Pitcher&#39;s rubber



Dec. 15, 1953 s, MADSEN 2,662,769

PITCHERS RUBBER Filed June 14, 1949 Patented Dec. 15, 1953 :ITED S TATES PATENT 2,662,759

.B TQH RU BER iaul S. Madsen, -Bethany, Conn., assignor to The ea le s Buh e fio p nmsw ha en, 0 a corponaticnpf Qonnecticut Application June 14, 1949, Serial No. 99, 038 4 1aim (01. 275-) This invention relateslto pitchers rubbers or plates used in playing the game of baseball.

The ordinary pitcher s rubber or plate inuse at the present time .consists of a slab or mat of elastic material, such as rubber, that is relatively thin and requires securing means engaging the same and the underlying earth ior holding it in place. ill-here are various ,objections to this form of slablike rubber, among which are the .di-fliculty I of providing satisfactory anchoring means, and the fact that the slab does not remain level but is likely to project upwardly at one or more ledges owingto the action .of mm which works in under the margins of the slab.

One of the objects of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks.

Another object is to provide a .pitchers rubber of simple form, in which there is effective pro,-

vision for preventing .dirt from working in under In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is .a perspective view .of a pitcherfs rubber embodying my improvements, showing itembedded in the ground and ready for use;

. 2 is an enlarged end view of the article; Fig. :3 is a .vertical transverse section showing :a modified form and 'Figs. 4, 5. and .6 areyertical :transverseseetions showing, respectively, additional modified forms.

in .the storm of lpitcherls "rubber illustrated in Figs. -1 and 2, the rubber, instead of being in the 4 form of .a slab or plate lying in ,a single plane, is generally ,of :block shape or ibillet shape, hav..- ing, however, a cross-sectional shape which is lunch so :as :to provide a trough-dike .cr channeled cross section. In this form the article has three pla ar outside surfac s all o t sam area, namely, two side suriacesand an upper ..su1r.facc- This article is prefi rably sha of rubber, al though the term rubber is used a ihmadrather than a restr cted se se The :blQ k. s embedded in thssart so that, in the hsisl sdp siti h, h of the planar elongated surfaces is flush v or sub.- stanti lly hush i h the s rounding ear h In Fig. 1 the block is shown as having-what has been referred to as t un criq p suriace u h with the surrounding earth.

in th d wing th r bbe i ihdisat d ge e ally at L0, an the sur ound ng ea h at ,u.

JAPPflI. surfa e hich is :ilushwith the su azounding earth, is indic ted at .lzisnd the side surfaces referred to at. 1:3, each of these be ng 21 a plane pernendicular to t p aneof t su face 112. The cross section ;of .the bloc-k is such as to provide a channel, and th s a ticular cas the channel is moyided by forming in the rub.- her :block at the under side .a recess M, which recess may have a rounded or curved shape .or profile .such as shown in the drawing. Eon veniently this article can Joe made by mo din compound of rubber and other materials into the form shown, and viulca izing, so as to provide a channeled member open at :the bottom a d having integral depending walls which in t is case are curved at their inn r urf es, and 33$ their upper parts .provide in conjunction with the upper body a formation shap d l ke an arch..-

f s article when placed in the ound. shown inFig. :1, will have .suifici nt wei h and stability to hold ;it in place While it is use in playing the same of baseball, the uppe .fl-si s rface remaining flus or substant al y flush w th the surrounding earth. Wh l th a ticle 'pKQ crably :made .01 yulcanizedruhber and has a .Qsrtain amount of last ci it possess s .sufiisish rigidity and stren th to enable it easi tos pport the wei ht of. the pla er. Thi is t ue whe block is in :th (positi n s wn i Fla and hi also true wh n and if. the block i embedded s0 asco have either hi he s n-mo iiu s ho tthe latte case eart dismssd in the channe will 'pr yi e add tiona suppor :f r he pa t .Q the lblQQk whic :is u pe most and i neces ary, :tucther .or differ nt interio sup or mean be provid d- It will be noted that, when the article is ins a l d in t e m nne sh wn in F 1 th rs hspossi ity o dirt on 0 nea th su iacs o th ercund ork hsj un er th a icle i suc a manne a to cause he rubbe t becom d placed r to cause t e uppe pl ng surface to be warped or distorted out of its flat planar condition. With the ordinar pitchers slab, which is relatively thin and lies in'a single plane, there is a great tendency for dirt to work in under the edge of the plate, and this is particularly true in respect to that :edge of the plate which is located :toward the home plate. This particular edge of the iondinary -pitchers plate not only becomes .WQMI by the ,pitcher shoes, :but in making the pitch there is .a great likelihood .of the pitcher-is foot-:1. e., his-initially advanced foot, in being lifted, throwing dirt against and under the forward ed e. This is entirely .obviated in the pres nt instance by reason .of the fact that .18 :blQQk s own a ;-forjward wall depending from the upper body and extending downwardly for a considerable distance, at any rate suflicient distance, into the earth.

In the event that either of the flat surfaces I3 is used as the top surface, it is obviously advisable to have the body or connecting portion of the channel member disposed toward the home plate, so that the conditions just referred to will be maintained in this adjustment. It will, of course,

be apparent that with this structure three playing faces are provided on the block, and that when one of the faces becomes worn it is possible to turn the block so as to present a new face as the active face.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, the structure of the article is similar to that which has just been described. In this case, however, the channel, instead of being of arched shape, is of rectangular shape, the side walls l5 being of uniform thickness throughout their height, and the top wall I8 also being of uniform thickness. In this case it is preferred to employ an inner reinforcing member, and a wooden block I! which fits within and fills the channel can be used advantageously for this purpose. It is preferred also to connect the channel member of rubber to the block so that the two will not be relatively displaced, and in this particular form the lower ends of the side walls are fastened to the lower part of the wooden block at intervals by suitable fasteners, illustrated as nails I8.

In the form shown in Fig. 4, the channel shape of the rubber block member is maintained, but in this case the side walls I9 are relatively short. They are, however, attached to the sides of the wooden block 20, as by fasteners illustrated as nails 2|. In this case additional securing means are provided between the rubber member and the wooden block, and for this purpose the block is provided with a through bore 22 into which is frictionally driven a fastening pin 23 that is attached to the body of the rubber channel member. The connection between said body and the upper end of the pin 23 is provided by an internally threaded bushing 24 molded in place in the rubber member and engaged by external threads on the upper end of the pin.

In using the article of Fig. 4, it will be found that the front and rear walls of the channel member are projected downwardly into the earth sufliciently to inhibit the working of dirt under the channel member. In this particular case, also, the walls are fastened to the wooden block as a further means for preventing dirt from working in.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, certain principles previously mentioned or shown are retained. The rubber member again is a channel member, but the left-hand wall is longer than the righthand wall. The structure is similar to that of Fig. 4, but the left-hand wall is continued downwardly across the side face of the wooden block, and is joined integrally to a short wall lying against the lower surface of the block. Here the left-hand wall is indicated at 25, and the short lower horizontal wall at 26. The upper wall 21 has a threaded insert 28 similar to the bushing or insert 24, and the wall 25 is provided with a similar insert 25, the arrangement being such that either of the inserts 28 and 29 is usable with the pin or dowel 30.

The form shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that shown in Fig. 5, but it will be apparent that in this case the extensions which are provided on 4 the main or full-width rubber walls of Fig. 5 are omitted.

It will be understood that the forms of Figs. 3, 5 and 6 are similar to the article of Fig. 2 in that when one of the playing faces becomes worn it is possible to turn the block so as to present a new face as the active face. In the form shown in Fig. 5, the block is a composite article comprising a wooden or like interior member and an outer cover member of rubber, the latter being usable in different adjustments upon the inner member which in this case is provided with holes or bores extending in one direction only. In other words, where the wooden block has vertical bores only, either of the full width side walls of the rubber member can be applied to the top surface of the wooden member. This same condition exists, of course, in the form of Fig. 6.

The rubber part of the article can be made readily by suitable methods known in the rubber industry and there is no limitation to any particular method of manufacture.

In respect to the forms shown in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive, these have the further advantage that while they are very effective in preventing warping or distortion of the rubber member as a result of the penetration or lodgement of dirt or dust in the manner previously mentioned, the rubber part of the article can be used satisfactorily in connection with simple, easily procurable, interior supports such as elongated wooden members having a relatively small number of holes or sockets for receiving pins, dowels, or like fastening devices.

I do not claim broadly herein a pitchers rubher having an upper wall presenting a fiat playing surface and having a wall or body extending downwardly to prevent the ingress of dirt, nor do I claim broadly herein a pitchers rubber comprising an elongated billet-like block adapted to be turned on its axis to present a fresh playing face, or other features claimed in my application, Serial No. 53,197, filed October '7, 1948.

Various changes may be made in the details of the structure without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A pitchers rubber comprising an elongated member having an upper wall and a depending wall at right angles to the first wall adjacent the margin of the first wall, a supporting block for said member, and attaching means between said member and said block whereby the member is attached to the block in a predetermined position and is attachable in another position in which it is turned relatively to the block through a quarter turn.

2. A pitchers rubber comprising an elongated member having an upper wall and a depending wall at right angles to the first wall adjacent the margin of the first wall, a supporting block for said member and attaching means between said member and said block whereby the member is attached to the block in a predetermined position and is attachable in another position in which it is turned relatively to the block through a quarter turn, said last-named means including screw sockets embedded in the respective walls and engageable with a screw member disposed in a bore of the block.

3. A pitchers rubber comprising an elongated member having an upper wall and 9. depending wall at right angles to the first wall adjacent one margin of the first wall, a supporting block in the angle between said walls having a fastener positioned in said block, and attaching means carried by said member and cooperable with said fastener whereby the member can be attached to the block in different angular adjustments.

4. A pitchers mound having a ground cavity, a pitchers rubber of block formation received in said cavity, said rubber comprising an elongated member having an upper wall constituting a playing face arranged flush with the ground, a depending wall adjacent the margin of the first wall and also constituting an additional playing face when arranged flush with the ground, a supporting block in th angle between said walls,

and attaching means between said member a 15 2,225,496

6 said supporting block, whereby said additional playing face may be disposable in said cavity substantially flush with the ground by lifting the block formation, turning it on its axis, and lower- 5 ing it.

PAUL S. MADSEN.

References Cited in the file bf this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 340,153 Pimm Apr. 20, 1886 357,675 Keating Feb. 15, 1887 2,122,266 Seys June 28, 1938 2,189,428 Love Feb. 6, 1940 Gethin et a1. Dec. 17, 1940 

